Tax Season 2025: What’s New in the Tax Rules That Can Save You Money
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This episode is brought to you by Charles Schwab. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. Washington Wise from Charles Schwab is an original podcast that unpacks the stories making news in Washington. Listen at schwab.com slash washingtonwise.
Here's your money briefing for Sunday, February 9th. I'm Arianna Espudu for The Wall Street Journal. Filing your taxes means taking a closer look at everything that's happened in the past year, the good and the bad, to see where you could owe or save on your return. And this year, there's a few new additions to the list of possible tax credits and deductions to navigate.
So many people miss out on education credits, the earned income tax credit, home improvement for green energy tax credits. It's important to look through the lists and really see how my life's changed or what have I done that I might get a tax break for.
We're back with part two of our special series to get you ready for tax day on April 15th. Wall Street Journal reporter Ashley Edling joins me again to discuss the new changes from the IRS that could impact your 2024 tax return. That's after the break.
This episode is brought to you by Charles Schwab. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. Washington Wise from Charles Schwab is an original podcast that unpacks the stories making news in Washington. Listen at schwab.com slash Washington Wise.
There are new rules to consider this year before filing your 2024 tax return that could save you money. Wall Street Journal reporter Ashleya Ebling joins me. Ashleya, we're about two weeks into tax season. If people haven't started gathering their documents or preparing to file, is now the time?
It's always the time. But what is the benefit of filing early if you can? People want their refunds. Last year, refunds on average came in at $3,138. So, you know, big chunk of change. So that's the main reason people file early. But a lot of people can't file early because if you're an investor and you're waiting for 1099B, the brokerage statements, those come later in February and sometimes they get corrected. So you don't want to jump the gun if you know you're waiting for certain documents. It's better to have everything in hand before you file.
Last week, we discussed all the tools available to help make the process of filing your taxes cheaper and easier. But there are lots of tax credits or deductions that people might not know about. How common is it for people to overlook them?
So that's huge. There's a recent government report saying so many people miss out on education credits, the earned income tax credit, home improvement for green energy tax credits. So it's important to look through the lists and really see how my life's changed or what have I done that I might get a tax break for.
So it's all about trying to help save you money on your tax return. That's what people want. People want to pay less in taxes. The IRS has made some changes to their tax credits that I want to get into. First off, there are new opportunities for people who've been affected by natural disasters. What are the biggest changes?
Recent disaster victims for the L.A. fire victims, there have been big delays in when they have to file their taxes. So the roughly 10 million taxpayers who live in L.A. County have an extension until October 15th of this year to file and pay their 2024 taxes. They also get to delay paying quarterly estimated taxes. So that can benefit them as well. If you're in a state or an area of a state that was affected by a disaster, go to IRS disaster relief and they have it lists by state. You can look and see what your deadlines are.
Beyond those extensions on the deadlines, what else is out there for people who've been affected by natural disasters?
There was a tax law just in December of last year that was a long time coming. That's changed the rules for claiming casualty losses. So for people who are in these disaster areas, they can now go back and amend tax returns if they were affected in a natural disaster from 2020 through 2024.
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